**First off! I made this specifically for DeviantArt, and then realized that it really applies to every artist who is looking to get into the market of freelance work. I apologize that this journal references that site specifically quite a bit, but the information is still solid.
Commissions. Commissions. Commissions! It’s all anyone on here seems to talk about. It’s like a measure of popularity. But there’s a lot of danger in opening for commissions before you’re prepared, and that’s what this particular journal is about. Let’s avoid the common commission pitfalls (a journal for another day ) and get a healthy, fully prepared start!
Build Your Fanbase
I’ve seen some people join deviantArt (or other sites) and instantly expect to get commissions. We’re talking the same day that they sign up. Sorry, that’s just not how it works. Actually, you’ll be lucky to get commissions on deviantArt at all. DeviantArt is a community of artists. Sure, there are some buyers on here as well, but very rarely will you find regular work on this site. I like deviantArt because it’s a social network with other artists. It’s a place where I can come to make friends and learn. Sure, I can advertise myself on here, but most of my work comes from my Twitter, Tumblr, and own legwork. I’d recommend establishing yourself with the same username in as many places as you comfortably can. When you’re narrowing down the prospects, I’d say to avoid small, start-up art communities (you know the ones I’m talking about, those “exclusive”, “by invite only” art sites. Who is going to buy your work there?). Make yourself known on established websites where there is already a user base to be a part of. Twitter, Tumblr, Art Station, Behance, deviantArt, LinkedIn, ConceptCookie and even FurAffinity (if you’re into that kind of thing) are all fantastic options.
Understand Pricing and it’s Consequences
First off, don’t sell for points. Points is quite literally the equivalent of pocket change. 80 points is $1. That means that if you’re selling a full color image for 500 points (which I see all the time) you’re selling it for $6.25. $6.25 for a full picture. A full picture that I can promise you’ve spent more than a half an hour on. I’ll write a full journal on how pricing works, but generally, you should not be selling your work for less than minimum wage per hour. I’ll go through a lot of other pricing options in the other journal, but keep in mind that you are working on artwork. This is your time and you should be paid for it. Yes, you might absolutely LOVE doing artwork (so do I!) but you should still be paid for creating images for other people. If you choose not to be paid now, or to be paid in pocket change now, or to be paid for $5/hr now, you’ll likely regret it later. Your “target market” for lower pricing will not be the same as your target market for average pay. People who pay in dA points likely won’t be returning for more work later, and if they do, it’ll be for the same price. People who are willing to pay what your work is worth are more likely to be repeat customers, are likely to talk more about your work if you do a good job, and are, of course, willing to give you the amount that you deserve so that you’re doing less work for the appropriate amount of money. If you spend most of your time targeting the lower-range market you won’t be able to raise your prices later. (For the record, I’m not talking about general watchers and followers, some people just can’t afford to buy art or don’t need it, but they’re no less valuable in terms of having an awesome fan base. We’re strictly talking about clientele here).
Create a Strong Terms of Service Agreement
Do your research! Don’t just look at other ToS Agreements on deviantArt, many of them are not strong. If you can’t afford to hire an attorney, do some serious Google searching. There are a ton of really good samples of what your ToS should include. Again, I’m planning a full journal for this as well, but a few points I could make right now are to include; A) That you own all rights to your work. Make sure that this is a part of your Terms of Service. Yes, it goes without saying that you own what you make, but many times customers have the misinformed idea that because they’ve paid you they automatically own the artwork and can sell it, make prints of it, etc. B) A clause about what happens if you become ill. I know it’s likely not something you’re thinking about now, but what if you take a commission and suddenly become ill or are involved in an accident of some kind? You’ll want to detail out what happens. Does the customer get a full refund? Do you require an extension on the work deadline? Do you retain their deposit or the payment for the work that’s been completed, but refund the rest? Think about this now, not later. C) Bounced checks and returned payments. What if the client pays you in a check and it bounces? What happens if they do a charge-back with PayPal? Is there a fee that you’ll need covered? Most companies have a Returned Payment Fee because they don’t want to get stuck with the fee from the bank or processing center. It’s a smart fee to have included in your contract. From a consumer point of view, I know we all hate that fee, but from a business perspective, it’s a smart idea to have. D) Do you have a Rush Fee? If a client contacts you and says “I need this done in three days time!” and your average turn around is a month, will there be an additional charge? Keep in mind that this means you’ll be putting all your other clients on the back burner, working longer hours than usual and possibly even weekends or holidays - maybe both. Most artists do have an additional charge for this. Think of it as over time.
**Have a Terms of Service before you open for commissions. Not after. Don’t wait for something to happen where you wish you’d had one.**
Have Samples of Your Work
Weirdly enough, I felt the need to add this in here. I’ve seen a few people open for commissions that they don’t even have examples for. I’ve been contacted by people who have seriously told me “I don’t have any samples of animation, but I’m a really good animator. I work for $50/30 seconds. When do I start?”. What? No! Don’t be that person. If you’re offering character design commissions, have some samples. If you’re offering storyboard commissions, have some samples. Illustration? Have some samples. Badges? Make some samples. Animation? You guessed it. Samples. By doing this you’re not only showing your potential customers that you can provide the work you’re claiming you can and giving an example of quality, you’re doing yourself a favor by knowing an approximate of how long it’s going to take you to finish the work so you’re not overcharging your customer or short changing yourself.
In Closing
Remember! These steps aren’t just to help you get more commissions, they’re there for your protection. You don’t want to be involved in an all-too-common horror story scenario where a client can take advantage of you, and you don’t want to give your client a horror story about yourself (that they’ll undoubtedly share with every one of their friends and followers).
Protect your client, protect yourself, and protect your business.
**First off! I made this specifically for DeviantArt, and then realized that it really applies to every artist who is looking to get into the market of freelance work. I apologize that this journal references that site specifically quite a bit, but the information is still solid.
Commissions. Commissions. Commissions! It’s all anyone on here seems to talk about. It’s like a measure of popularity. But there’s a lot of danger in opening for commissions before you’re prepared, and that’s what this particular journal is about. Let’s avoid the common commission pitfalls (a journal for another day ) and get a healthy, fully prepared start!
Build Your Fanbase
I’ve seen some people join deviantArt (or other sites) and instantly expect to get commissions. We’re talking the same day that they sign up. Sorry, that’s just not how it works. Actually, you’ll be lucky to get commissions on deviantArt at all. DeviantArt is a community of artists. Sure, there are some buyers on here as well, but very rarely will you find regular work on this site. I like deviantArt because it’s a social network with other artists. It’s a place where I can come to make friends and learn. Sure, I can advertise myself on here, but most of my work comes from my Twitter, Tumblr, and own legwork. I’d recommend establishing yourself with the same username in as many places as you comfortably can. When you’re narrowing down the prospects, I’d say to avoid small, start-up art communities (you know the ones I’m talking about, those “exclusive”, “by invite only” art sites. Who is going to buy your work there?). Make yourself known on established websites where there is already a user base to be a part of. Twitter, Tumblr, Art Station, Behance, deviantArt, LinkedIn, ConceptCookie and even FurAffinity (if you’re into that kind of thing) are all fantastic options.
Understand Pricing and it’s Consequences
First off, don’t sell for points. Points is quite literally the equivalent of pocket change. 80 points is $1. That means that if you’re selling a full color image for 500 points (which I see all the time) you’re selling it for $6.25. $6.25 for a full picture. A full picture that I can promise you’ve spent more than a half an hour on. I’ll write a full journal on how pricing works, but generally, you should not be selling your work for less than minimum wage per hour. I’ll go through a lot of other pricing options in the other journal, but keep in mind that you are working on artwork. This is your time and you should be paid for it. Yes, you might absolutely LOVE doing artwork (so do I!) but you should still be paid for creating images for other people. If you choose not to be paid now, or to be paid in pocket change now, or to be paid for $5/hr now, you’ll likely regret it later. Your “target market” for lower pricing will not be the same as your target market for average pay. People who pay in dA points likely won’t be returning for more work later, and if they do, it’ll be for the same price. People who are willing to pay what your work is worth are more likely to be repeat customers, are likely to talk more about your work if you do a good job, and are, of course, willing to give you the amount that you deserve so that you’re doing less work for the appropriate amount of money. If you spend most of your time targeting the lower-range market you won’t be able to raise your prices later. (For the record, I’m not talking about general watchers and followers, some people just can’t afford to buy art or don’t need it, but they’re no less valuable in terms of having an awesome fan base. We’re strictly talking about clientele here).
Create a Strong Terms of Service Agreement
Do your research! Don’t just look at other ToS Agreements on deviantArt, many of them are not strong. If you can’t afford to hire an attorney, do some serious Google searching. There are a ton of really good samples of what your ToS should include. Again, I’m planning a full journal for this as well, but a few points I could make right now are to include; A) That you own all rights to your work. Make sure that this is a part of your Terms of Service. Yes, it goes without saying that you own what you make, but many times customers have the misinformed idea that because they’ve paid you they automatically own the artwork and can sell it, make prints of it, etc. B) A clause about what happens if you become ill. I know it’s likely not something you’re thinking about now, but what if you take a commission and suddenly become ill or are involved in an accident of some kind? You’ll want to detail out what happens. Does the customer get a full refund? Do you require an extension on the work deadline? Do you retain their deposit or the payment for the work that’s been completed, but refund the rest? Think about this now, not later. C) Bounced checks and returned payments. What if the client pays you in a check and it bounces? What happens if they do a charge-back with PayPal? Is there a fee that you’ll need covered? Most companies have a Returned Payment Fee because they don’t want to get stuck with the fee from the bank or processing center. It’s a smart fee to have included in your contract. From a consumer point of view, I know we all hate that fee, but from a business perspective, it’s a smart idea to have. D) Do you have a Rush Fee? If a client contacts you and says “I need this done in three days time!” and your average turn around is a month, will there be an additional charge? Keep in mind that this means you’ll be putting all your other clients on the back burner, working longer hours than usual and possibly even weekends or holidays - maybe both. Most artists do have an additional charge for this. Think of it as over time.
**Have a Terms of Service before you open for commissions. Not after. Don’t wait for something to happen where you wish you’d had one.**
Have Samples of Your Work
Weirdly enough, I felt the need to add this in here. I’ve seen a few people open for commissions that they don’t even have examples for. I’ve been contacted by people who have seriously told me “I don’t have any samples of animation, but I’m a really good animator. I work for $50/30 seconds. When do I start?”. What? No! Don’t be that person. If you’re offering character design commissions, have some samples. If you’re offering storyboard commissions, have some samples. Illustration? Have some samples. Badges? Make some samples. Animation? You guessed it. Samples. By doing this you’re not only showing your potential customers that you can provide the work you’re claiming you can and giving an example of quality, you’re doing yourself a favor by knowing an approximate of how long it’s going to take you to finish the work so you’re not overcharging your customer or short changing yourself.
In Closing
Remember! These steps aren’t just to help you get more commissions, they’re there for your protection. You don’t want to be involved in an all-too-common horror story scenario where a client can take advantage of you, and you don’t want to give your client a horror story about yourself (that they’ll undoubtedly share with every one of their friends and followers).
Protect your client, protect yourself, and protect your business.
I need to pay bills. and buy food. I still do not have a job. Its been rough.
I am willing to do commissions. I am willing to draw characters…within reason….starting at 10 EACH. This price is not final and could increase depending on what you want and how well you explain what you want. Please NO NSFW. I would be willing to draw…suggestive themes…I guess I am desperate.
Please contact me here on Tumblr if you would like a commission!
My PayPal is Tiredofwaiting24@aol.com
Here are some examples of what I have drawn.
I will reblog this periodically. Please even a reblog will help me. Please spread this around.
I am sure I could handle any fandom unless its like robots idk? I draw Sonic, Sonic OC’s, Hey Arnold, Zootopia, Wildehopps, Sly Cooper, If you want a portrait of yourself as a Disney character I can do that. Id be willing to draw Steven Universe or Pokemon or whatever.
catch of breath, choke, gulp, heave, inhale, pant, puff, snort, wheeze, huff, rasp, sharp intake of air, short of breath, struggle for breath, swallow, winded
Everyone:
lol sanic speed gtg fast lmao sonic games sux
Me:
haha ok
Me internally:
Actually no Sonic is one of the most iconic characters ever created. There are a ton of great games in the series, especially recently. Unfortunately this is completely overlooked because people just focus on making a joke out of the bad and selectively ignore the good. Even the bad sonic games are usually memorable and enjoyable (excluding a couple). Adventure and Adventure 2 are historic classics, Heroes had a fun story, lovable interaction between characters and tried a really unique gameplay style (it also has the basis for many other games in the series and is entirely based on teamwork and friendship- a great message), Shadow had a ton of replayability, Sonic Unleashed invented a brand new style of gameplay which was entirely unique. Sonic Colors on Wii is quite possibly one of the best action platformers ever made and Sonic Generations further refines it, both of which have some truly genius level design built on a great, well thought out concept called "speed as a reward". Generations & Unleashed have some of the best graphics of the last generation. Sonic Lost World went in a new direction and had unique, mind bending levels and great puzzle platforming gameplay. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars racing is arguably the best kart racer of las put gem, Transformed is very competent too. All (yes all) Sonic games have great music. But yes, of course. Sanic speed. Gotta go fast. Fast. That's all that matters.
OH and it remains, alongside Mario, the ONLY still relevant mascot game series.